Glue

Helsinki-based Glue Collaboration, operating as glue.work, provides a virtual reality collaboration platform designed for remote teams. The company was established in 2017, building on the legacy of its predecessor, Fake Production, an award-winning VR and gaming studio founded in 2004 by Santtu Parikka. The journey towards Glue began in 2016 when Parikka and CXO Juha Ruistola developed early multi-user VR prototypes. The company's CEO, Jussi Havu, brings a background in business development, strategy, and finance from his time at major corporations like Nokia and Microsoft, reflecting his perspective as a target customer for such a collaborative platform.

Glue is engineered for businesses that require remote meetings to be as effective as in-person interactions, facilitating learning, planning, and creation in immersive 3D environments. The business model operates on a subscription basis, offering tiered plans including a free version with limitations, a professional plan, and a customizable enterprise-level service. The free tier allows up to 10 team members and 30-minute sessions, while paid tiers offer unlimited usage, custom branding, and enhanced support. The company was acquired by Hyperspace in May 2024 to continue its mission.

The platform's core functionalities center on creating a sense of presence through customizable avatars and spatial audio, which mimics realistic sound positioning. All interactions occur in persistent 3D virtual spaces, a key differentiator from transient video calls. These spaces are customizable and can be branded for specific corporate needs like meetings, training, and sales presentations. Collaboration tools are a key component, featuring interactive elements like whiteboards, sticky notes, and 3D drawing capabilities. Users can import various file types, including presentations, videos, and 3D models, into a shared cloud storage system, making them accessible for virtual sessions. The platform's architecture combines serverless cloud technology with flexible hosting options and is designed to integrate with other business applications such as Slack and Trello.

Keywords: virtual collaboration, enterprise VR, remote teams, 3D meetings, spatial computing, avatar-based communication, virtual reality software, immersive environments, team collaboration tools, VR training